Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, University of Minnesota, Falcon Heights, MN, USA.
Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota, Falcon Heights, MN, USA.
Zoonoses Public Health. 2020 Jun;67(4):460-466. doi: 10.1111/zph.12691. Epub 2020 Feb 7.
The role of wildlife in the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment is of increasing concern. We investigated the occurrence, richness and transmissibility potential of ARGs detected in the faeces of three mesocarnivore species: the coyote (Canis latrans), raccoon (Procyon lotor) and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), and of stray and owned dogs in suburban Chicago, IL, USA. Rectal swabs were collected from live-captured coyotes (n = 32), raccoons (n = 31) and Virginia opossums (n = 22). Fresh faecal samples were collected from locally owned (n = 13) and stray dogs (n = 18) and from the live-captured mesocarnivores, when available. Faecal samples and rectal swabs were enriched to select for Enterobacteriaceae and pooled by mesocarnivore species and dog type (owned or stray). Pooled enriched samples were then analysed for the presence of ARGs using shotgun sequencing. The three mesocarnivore and stray dog samples had twice as many unique ARGs compared to the owned dog sample, which was partly driven by a greater richness of beta-lactamase genes (genes conferring resistance to penicillins and cephalosporins). Raccoon and stray dog samples had the most ARGs in common, suggesting possible exposure to similar environmental sources of ARGs. In addition to identifying clinically relevant ARGs (e.g. bla and qnrB), some ARGs were linked to the class 1 integrase gene, intI1, which may indicate anthropogenic origin. Findings from this pilot investigation suggest that the microbial communities of suburban mesocarnivores and stray dogs can host ARGs that can confer resistance to several antimicrobials used in human and veterinary medicine.
野生动物在环境中传播抗微生物药物耐药性细菌和抗微生物药物耐药性基因（ARGs）的作用引起了越来越多的关注。我们调查了在美国伊利诺伊州芝加哥郊区，三种中型食肉动物（郊狼（Canis latrans）、浣熊（Procyon lotor）和弗吉尼亚负鼠（Didelphis virginiana））以及流浪犬和家养犬粪便中检测到的 ARG 的发生、丰富度和传播潜力。从活捕获的郊狼（n=32）、浣熊（n=31）和弗吉尼亚负鼠（n=22）中采集直肠拭子。从当地饲养的（n=13）和流浪犬（n=18）以及活捕获的中型食肉动物中采集新鲜粪便样本。当有样本时。通过宏基因组测序分析富集的粪便样本和直肠拭子，以检测肠杆菌科的存在，并根据中型食肉动物和犬类型（饲养或流浪）对其进行分组。与饲养犬样本相比，三种中型食肉动物和流浪犬样本的独特 ARG 数量多出一倍，这主要是由于β-内酰胺酶基因（赋予对青霉素和头孢菌素的耐药性的基因）的丰富度增加所致。浣熊和流浪犬样本的 ARG 最为相似，这表明它们可能接触到类似的 ARG 环境来源。除了鉴定出具有临床相关性的 ARG（例如 bla 和 qnrB）外，一些 ARG 与 class 1 整合酶基因 intI1 相关，这可能表明其人为起源。这项初步调查的结果表明，郊区中型食肉动物和流浪犬的微生物群落可以携带能够赋予对人类和兽医中使用的几种抗生素的耐药性的 ARG。
